SEAN MCGRATH
Sports Editor
Just this past week, the domestic violence-ridden NFL made a big step in its attempts to discourage and prevent its athletes from ever committing acts of domestic violence when they handed former Carolina Panther, now Dallas Cowboy, Greg Hardy a 10-game suspension without pay starting next season.
Then, the NFL Players Association made a shocking move — they filed for an appeal.
In a flash flood of details coming to light, Hardy has already been punished from the charges brought against him from a dispute with a woman that ended with him assaulting and threatening to kill his former girlfriend.
In the post-Ray Rice era of the NFL, steps are now being taken to avoid another case of domestic violence altogether. However, in the event of this occurring, the NFL has steps in place to take immediate action — actions that should have been in place decades ago.
Ray Rice was immediately removed from the NFL after his tape was released, amidst controversy, to the Associated Press. However, the truth behind the story is still in a cloud of confusion, and further investigation still hasn’t fixed anything.
With the NFL riddled with scandal, the rest of the sports world is filled with problems.
PEDs and the MLB, PEDs and NASCAR, head injuries all over the place, gambling, drugs and racism. It’s hard to tell if this is the sports we watch or an episode of “The Real World: Las Vegas.”
Just this past weekend, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao sparred in what has been decided as “The Fight of the Century.”
Two greats in the sport of boxing filled the stands at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for this once-in-a-lifetime bout that has been five years in the making.
Seems legit. Until you realize the stakes.
Surfacing from this was the prize money that Mayweather was going to pony up to bail out a certain ex-music producer — a Mr. Suge Knight.
Knight, 50, is sitting in prison currently on $10 million bail after running over two men in a Los Angeles parking lot, killing one and injuring the other.
As of this writing, Mayweather has been Harry Houdini with the money, and Knight is still in custody.
Regardless of whether or not he actually goes through with it, it’s begs to ask.
“Floyd, what are you thinking?”
A man who turned himself in for killing and injuring two men is sitting in prison, and you wage your fight on bailing him out? This screams stupidity.
While it hasn’t been entirely confirmed, reports put Mayweather’s camp reaching out to Knight’s attorney.
Seriously though, what are they thinking? But I guess we shouldn’t expect less from a guy who’s been documented on seven different domestic violence cases. Mayweather might as well play for the NFL.
Now, the fight itself was a sleeper, with a few punches thrown, some dancing and running around the ring and the unanimous decision victory in favor of Mayweather, but now, the real attention is on whether Floyd “Money” Mayweather makes true to his name. Let’s hope it was just a publicity gimmick.
Two examples of a larger issue, I could go on, but we just don’t have the space for that.